Brewer scoops £80,000 savings from forklift damage

Damage was being caused to palletised loads of aluminium cans of drink as they were taken from the production area to the adjacent warehouse. The impact of the load against the fork carriage as the truck's forks entered the pallet was often sufficient to damage at least one can in every load. If the interior finish of the can was cracked, the resulting leak could often spoil the entire load. The can supplier advised the brewery to try fitting a special roller device to the mast carriage of its forklifts, but this had little effect. A Google search drew the brewer's attention to the Jayline load protector range. The cushions were trialled on trucks in the production area and damage was eliminated straight away, so the cushions were subsequently fitted to the entire forklift truck fleet, including warehouse trucks. Made in the UK from heavy duty moulded rubber, Jayline's patented load protectors fit to the rear face of a forklift truck's forks and absorb the impact of an incoming load. They provide a cushioned barrier between the load and the back of the forks and, as the pallet is picked up, the protector prevents the load from hitting the truck's forks or the fork carriage with sufficient force to cause damage to the load. Peter Kimberley, sales and marketing director of Jayline Products, comments: "No company that is experiencing stock damage caused by lift trucks picking up palletised loads can afford to overlook the kind of savings that our load protectors offer. In this leading brewer's case, the investment has resulted in annual savings of at least £80,00 per year in reduced stock losses, while the damage to the company's image and reputation caused by quantities of spoiled goods arriving at a retailer's site cannot be quantified."